give a meal and a smile to homebound elderly in nyc

Citymeals-on-Wheels is one of the largest meals-on-wheels programs in the United States, delivering 1.8 million meals to nearly 17,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers every year. Our devoted staff and volunteers also offer much needed human companionship to our frail aged neighbors, who often find the holidays especially lonely. What you don’t know about this fragile population may surprise you:

New York City is home to nearly 1.3 million senior citizens, 60 years and older.

Nearly 100% of our meal recipients use assistive devices for walking, and many use more than one.

Many of our meal recipients are isolated and lonely; 73% live alone and 40% rarely or never leave their homes.

About Citymeals-on-Wheels

Gael Greene and James Beard founded Citymeals-on-Wheels in 1981 after reading a newspaper article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with nothing to eat on weekends and holidays. They rallied the restaurant community to supplement to the government-funded weekday meal delivery program. Their first efforts brought a Christmas meal to 6,000 homebound elderly.